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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Villainess Who Wields a Sword
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The Extermination Squad returned to the Academy.
Erin lay on her bed, recalling the events that had transpired.
She had told Lilia everything, with the exception of having experienced three lives.
After listening to Erin, Lilia was silent for a long time. She sat there with a blank expression, then burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Lilia kept repeating that she was sorry, though it wasn't clear what for.
"Do you believe me?"
At Erin's question, Lilia recounted what had happened to her after Calips died.
The maid named Charlotte who appeared after his death, and the mana stone she presented, claiming it was difficult to obtain.
Even the offer to give her the mana stone if she avenged her friend.
Charlotte, as always, egged Lilia on, urging her to avenge Calips, and made an offer that no ordinary mage could refuse.
Mana stones were generally managed by the Imperial Family and could only be owned with the Emperor's permission.
This was one reason why imperial authority remained somewhat robust in a world dominated by Sword Masters and mages.
But a mere maid from a Marquis's household possessing a mana stone? Lilia said she didn't know why she had accepted that fact so readily, but back then, she had naturally believed it.
"It was as if... I was under some kind of spell, knowing it was absurd, yet..."
Lilia's words were disjointed. Erin realized she was in a state of deep confusion.
What Raymond had done to Erin, Charlotte had done the exact same thing to Lilia.
'Charlotte was the Marquis's Wife's most favored maid.'
Erin vaguely recalled the maid who used to look down on her from beside the Marquis's Wife in the past.
Even at the moment of her death, Charlotte had clung to the Marquis's Wife like a shadow.
It wasn't that she had never thought it strange. It was just that at the time, Erin, even if she sensed something was amiss, lacked the power to grasp it.
She, too, hadn't believed that a maid could acquire a mana stone on her own.
Moreover, according to Lilia, the mana stone she had seen was no ordinary mana stone.
It was said to be a mana stone created using black magic, forbidden on the continent.
Using the shattered corpse of the Werewolf Tribe leader as a clue, Lilia had searched through various Academy records and become convinced that it was due to black magic.
Erin gazed at the ceiling with calm, sunken eyes.
'Why did she have to go that far?'
Why, exactly? What had she done wrong?
It was something she had always wondered. Erin had done nothing wrong to the Marquis's Wife.
Yet, why had Corelia plunged her into ruin? Erin simply couldn't understand her.
'I might get busy soon.'
As Erin thought this, she frowned at a presence she sensed outside.
Someone was rapidly approaching her dormitory room.
There were two people. One seemed to be a skilled knight, and the other, the Dormitory Manager who managed the dorms.
The Dormitory Manager's anxious, trailing footsteps could be heard.
"Young Lady Erin Resus!"
Erin rose from her bed at the sound of rough knocking on the door.
It hadn't even been a full day since the Extermination Squad arrived at the Academy. Everyone was leaving them alone to rest comfortably.
Thus, knocking on her door itself was surprisingly rude.
Erin thought the voice from outside sounded familiar.
"Please open the door, Young Lady Erin! It's an urgent message!"
"Sir Loham, Sir Erin has only just returned from the expedition."
"How dare a mere maid talk back to me?"
"I am not a maid!"
The two people's bickering conversation was audible.
When she opened the door, as she expected, there was a knight and Ellua, the Dormitory Manager and overall head of the dorms.
The knight, a man of large build, smirked as he looked at Erin.
She could tell at a glance that he possessed uncommon skill.
'Ah, there was this kind of person too.'
The man standing at the door was His Royal Highness Ditrion, the First Prince's knight. Was his name Loham?
She remembered him always looking at her with disdain whenever he was beside Ditrion.
"Young Lady Erin, it's been a while."
At Loham's words, Ellua, standing next to him, looked surprised.
Erin was a knight. Since she had entered the Atenz Academy's Swordsmanship Department, she was no longer a Young Lady of the Marquis's household.
For her, the title 'Young Lady Erin' was tantamount to an insult.
"What brings you here?"
"I have brought an urgent message sent by Lady Corelia, by order of His Royal Highness Ditrion."
Loham said, handing Erin the letter he held in his hand.
Her name, written in Corelia's handwriting, was visible on it.
Erin took the Marquis's Wife's letter from Loham's hand.
[Erin, it's been a while. I received word asking if Raymond had arrived at the Marquis's estate, but he hasn't, you see. It's impossible for Raymond to have deserted the Extermination Squad on his own, so something must have happened. To look into his matter, and because I'm worried about you at Atenz Academy, I plan to visit soon.
A victory banquet for His Royal Highness Ferdin is scheduled soon anyway, so I'll likely arrive around then. His Royal Highness Ditrion said he would depart earlier, so he might arrive not long after you receive this letter. Well then, I'll see you soon.
Your loving Corelia.]
Erin leaned against the doorframe, read the letter, and then for a long time, mulled over the words Corelia had written.
Your loving Corelia.
Corelia often told Erin she loved her when others were present.
"I love you, Erin."
Erin had believed that those words were true, even amidst the pain Corelia inflicted. She truly thought it was all done out of love for her.
So, she had tirelessly strived to hear the Marquis's Wife say she loved her.
That was how it had been, until just before her death, before she realized the full truth.
'If she truly loved me, she wouldn't have treated me that way. I was such a fool.'
The purpose of Corelia sending this letter now was obvious. There was no need whatsoever to send such trivial content as an urgent message.
This was merely a cruel game Corelia often played with Erin.
Rather than intending to inform Atenz Academy of her visit, she likely meant to amuse herself by imagining Erin trembling in fear after receiving the urgent message.
In her first life, too, Corelia had often sent her letters.
This was usually what she did when Erin had 'done something wrong'.
Corelia knew all too well how Erin would tremble upon receiving an urgent message.
'Come to think of it, the Marquis's Wife often visited the Imperial Palace to see Ditrion.'
Corelia dominated the social circles of the Lexia Empire and wielded considerable power simply by being a relative of the Emperor.
She had even tutored the princes who would become the next Emperor, so it was not strange that Ditrion and Corelia had a close relationship.
Erin scoffed, crumpling Corelia's letter without a second thought.
At her action, Loham, who was standing in front of her, stumbled back with a surprised look. Erin's action was completely unexpected to him.
He had often accompanied Ditrion to the Marquis's estate and thus had somewhat noticed that Erin, contrary to the widespread rumors, had a timid personality.
Erin Resus crumpling Corelia's letter? Hadn't she revered Corelia like a goddess?
"Sir Loham."
"Young Lady Erin?"
At Loham's words, Erin smiled. Her internal injuries were severe, but not so severe that she couldn't handle an oaf like him.
Her fist shot swiftly towards Loham's face.
It was so fast that he, a senior knight, couldn't react immediately. The fist grazed past Loham's ear.
If Erin hadn't changed direction, he would have been hit squarely by her punch.
"Th-this... What kind of rudeness is this?!"
Loham cried out in alarm.
He thought Erin Resus had gone mad. To just punch someone out of nowhere!
"Sir, for a knight, you can't even dodge a mere lady's punch. It seems you are disqualified as His Royal Highness Ditrion's escort."
Loham's face flushed with anger.
"This... This insolent woman! A Young Lady of the Marquis's house with no manners!"
Erin heard his outburst and laughed as if incredulous.
"You are the rude one, Sir. Before I am a Young Lady of the Resus Marquisate, I am a knight. For a knight like you to make such a fundamental mistake with an honorific... I am speechless."
Pfft!
At Erin's words, Ellua, who was standing beside her, couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.
Infuriated, Loham turned his head and glared at her.
"How dare a lowly person laugh?"
His demeanor suggested he was about to draw his sword. Ellua, flustered, stepped back but froze shortly after.
Loham grinned, pressuring Ellua with an aura that an ordinary person would find hard to bear. But soon, his complexion also began to turn pale.
